it is all the target was near the city -- we will have more from our middle east correspondent in just a minute. iraq's prime minister calls for international help to fight against soaring violence on a trip to the u.s.. nouri al-maliki said he wanted to say a third world war launched to stop al qaeda attacks. and it is as long as six football fields and it is fitted

with electric lighting and even a train. u.s. authorities have discovered a drug super tunnel under the border with mexico. thanks for watching -- you are watching "france 24." anonymous u.s. officials and syrian rebel forces confirmed report israel bombed a syrian military base. it is said to be near this city -- port city, targeting missiles israel believes could be transferred to the militant group hezbollah. that's get more on the straightaway from jerusalem with our middle east correspondent. this has not been conformed -- confirmed by israeli authorities. what do we know so far? >> no, it has not been confirmed. it pretty much means the suppose it source of fire, israel, is not conforming -- confirming nor denying the reports. we know very little and we know what from sources speaking

anonymously because of the sensitivity of the issue at hand, and that is notably an obama administration official confirming that last wednesday israel did mount an attack on syrian territory. however, that official did not indicate the nature of the target nor its precise geographical location. pan-everett media reported the strike occurred near the northwestern city in syria and perhaps another strike near damascus that has again not been confirmed. either by israel's defense ministry or by its government who have remained mute on the issue. if they were to make any comment , as they have in the past one of the strikes were attributed to israel, between four and five this year alone, but all we will hear from israeli officials is that israel will do what ever -- whatever it needs to, and that includes using force, in order to prevent weapons from being

transferred into the hands of its enemies. so, according to anonymous sources, this would be a shipment of russian long-range missiles that would supposedly ollahnt to has bola -- hezb operating in southern lebanon. >> if indeed this was an arms shipment, why would israel strike now? what is the strategy here? >> the believe probably amongst the intelligence community and the military community in israel is at this point between four and five different strikes have already been attributed to israel. there has been absolutely no response from the shop al-assad, the embattled syrian president and how the chemical arsenal has largely been dismantled according to the international organization who went into syria precisely for that purpose. assessment within israel's intelligence communities is probably at this

point the response capacity of bashar al-assad is very low, so there is not too much risk in targeting these shipments inside syria. remember, israel's a red line on -- syrian issue is precisely the transferring of conventional and nonconventional weapons to its regional enemies. >> thanks very much indeed for that. reporting to us from jerusalem. meanwhile, u.n. and arab league envoy to syria said a peace summit are posed cannot take place without the syrian opposition. so far, some of the opposition politicians are resisting sitting down with the assad regime. >> the syrian government assured me it will participate in the conference. the opposition, whether the syrian national coalition or other parties, they are still

speak -- seeking a way to be present at the geneva conference. we hope to have a delegation from opposition. it will be much better for the conference and for syrian. >> also this friday, russian prime minister dmitry medvedev says he hopes to see the geneva peace conference take place by the end of the year. he also said, though, that the departure of us are alassane cannot be a precondition for the talks. as many opposition activists have demanded. four palestinian militants were killed during an israeli raid on the gaza strip overnight. israel sent troops to destroy it tunnel it said was being used by hamas militants to launch attacks on israel. hamas says the islam -- is the islamist group that controls the gaza strip. israeli defense forces say five of the soldiers were injured

when militants detonated an explosive device in the tunnel. iraq's the prime minister called for u.s. help in fighting against al qaeda, saying he wants to see an international effort, a third world war, as he put it, against terrorism. nouri al-maliki is due to meet with barack obama in washington later this friday. official figures show october was the single deadliest month in iraq since 2008. >> security forces are at the forefront of this battle. the quality of the weapons, plans, the strategies, the development of the strategies, destroying the cells, all of this is necessary, but it is not enough. we need sound the social structure. of car and suicide bombings across iraq in recent months.

38 strikes killing nearly a thousand people in the last month alone. comparisons have been drawn to the deadly violence in 2006, the worst such period during the u.s. occupation. all maliki, though, is blaming al qaeda and the drive to spread terror in the region rather than sectarian tension and shiite. help havee pleas for not impressed politicians and the u.s. congress, however. it comes to years after the u.s. pulled out of a rat over a dispute over legal immunity washington said was needed to protect his troops against prosecution. u.s. lawmakers say the latest round of violence is the government's own making and stems from its failure to include minority sunnis in the political process. the u.s. first said this week it will help fight terror groups, but in the long term solution cannot purely be based on military force. 's" foreign affairs

correspondent has more on the argument that the fighting is down to regional instability. >> for the united states to make specifically that case -- though -- the war in syria is spilling over into iraqi. that the instability in syria is creating problems with his own sunni minority. al qaeda, which appeared defeated in iraq two years ago, is now resurgent precisely because of that. isry they argue that -- this where maliki has a big problem. in the united states government circles, particularly in congress, they're perception is the insurgency that is now growing inside of iraq is not primarily a result of what is happening in syria and the spillover but much more directly a consequence of nouri al- maliki's on policies inside iraq. in the sense that it is perceived, at least, that he is excluding the sunni minority from government, prosecuting dissident figures in the sunni

community, and as a consequence of that, he is get a wising -- ghettoising the community. the endy 20 years since of the bosnian war but investigators have discovered what could prove to be the largest mass grave from that conflict. 360ar, the remains of people have been found at the, tomasica grave site -- mass grave site. that number is expected to rise. authorities say it could be even larger than the grave at srebrenica. nazi styleup concentration camp's. the body of the long hunted head of the gestapo has never been found. but now it appears a german secret services should have been looking closer to home.

a historian claims to discover evidence that he never survived world war ii and was in fact buried in a jewish graveyard in berlin. peer williams has more. -- long a mystery, the fate of the head of the gestapo after world war ii. now this is guardian said he discovered archive evidence showing with near certainty that heinrich mueller died in the final days of the war not far from hitler's bunker in berlin. it appears he was buried in a jewish graveyard. hethe gravedigger testified found a body dressed in a general's uniform with heinrich mueller's identity papers. the body. at a mass grave in a jewish cemetery. 2007 as a people were buried there in mass graves, and one of them with heinrich mueller. >> he was on the cia wanted list and for years the german secret

services suspected he was hiding out in czechoslovakia. he was part of the third reich and helped orchestrate the final zis plan toe nona annihilate jews. it is not clear why he was buried in a jewish cemetery but some so-called professional nazi hunters are skeptical of the evidence, arguing not two's on the run word known for faking their own death. only dna evidence would you crude. but with the sheer number of graves in the cemetery, carrying out such tests would be monumental. >> u.s. and mexican authorities shut down a huge tunnel found running underneath the border there used to smuggle drugs. it is thought to be one of the most sophisticated such passages covers discovered. equipped with electric lighting, ventilation, and even a train line. here is a look inside. the u.s. border

from mexico, a federal agent claimed first down a tiny hole in a warehouse floor. 20 meters down, a sophisticated tunnel running more than 500 meters designed to bring narcotics into the country. >> of the passageway is four feet in height. approximately three feet wide. it is equipped with an electronic rail system. an elaborate electrical system, as well as a ventilation system. >> beyond shutting down the third such super tunnel discovered since 20 11, authorities netted more than eight tons of marijuana and more than 150 kilos of cocaine. they also arrested three people on drugs related charges. it is thought the passage between tijuana and san diego was built by one of northern mexico's most powerful criminal group. they have been under pressure from law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border. >> we have the border underground fairly well monitored here.

if they are building a tunnel, we would know about it. --re are traditional roots their traditional roots and methods are failing. they are very desperate and doing whatever they can to get into the u.s. >> while marijuana is routinely brought in underground, it is the first time cocaine is found transported the same way. although authorities shut down the tunnel wednesday night before it could be used. >> the finishing touches are being put in place as mexico -- as mexico city prepares to celebrate a of the dead ,dia de los muertos in spanish, honoring the departed souls in a blend of aztec and christian cultures. it is held on all saints day when, according to tradition, the heavens open and the souls of the dead returned to earth. decorating and offering food, drink, another presence in a bid to entice them down. that is it for now on "france 24 ." more news coming up very soon.

>> hello, and welcome to face up on "france 24." on the menu -- sometimes it seems the only way is down. depressing situation president francois hollande finds himself in. whatever it does, it seems the french do not trust him anymore. his polling figures are the worst ever for a president did and more troubling, the socialist government has backtracked several times on tax increases in the face of protests. with me on the set to discuss francois hollande's situation, dire situation, i should say, a andt from "figaro" magazine

from -- the government blamed on the so- called eco tax, and environmental tax on trucks in the face of violent protest. , region west of france socialist stronghold, the prime minister explained that suspending the tax was an act of courage. the transport minister and i have already improved the law and changed some of the negative aspects. but this is not enough. willcertain the situation remain locked in brittany until we resume negotiations. it takes courage to restore dialogue. that is why i decided to suspend the implementation of the eco tax law. it will give us time for dialogue -- on the national and regional levels. >> it takes courage to dialogue. a somewhat argue it takes

coverage -- someone would argue it takes courage, we make a decision, to stick with them. >> i think coverage has nothing to do with what is going on right now with the french government. the motto on any difficult subject. francois hollande maneuvered the boat into such dire straits that they can't take any sort of decision that is hard to swallow for any social group for the country. back peddling in front of school pupils, farmers from brittany, in front of drop -- truck drivers and any social group has his own way. how is it possible now to have any sort of policy in a situation where you need very strong reforms, and you have no base to take difficult decisions right now? >> i guess you will see the

polling figures -- a poll taken shows francois hollande at 26%. in the 30-year history of the poll, never has a president gone under 40%. francois hollande is at 26%, basically only a quarter of the french still trust him. we have seen backtracking on the tocalled eco tax and a plan tax more savings, to tax more corporations. what is going on? >> the french public is extremely dissatisfied with what francois hollande is doing now and what they expected them to do when they elected him in office in 2012. the first point. the second point, up until now francois hollande had the idea that, ok, i was select it, i have tough work to do, i have to give france back on the rails, the country is in dire straits,

so i will have to tax everybody more and bring more money into the state coffers because he views government of the sarkozy spent far too much money and spend more money then we actually had. that is my job. in the old days when presidents were elected, they gave handouts. they say, ok, now it is time to work hard to pay that money. this time francois hollande said work hard to start with, have to pay more money, and that will get results. i think up until recently he has not really cared very much about his popularity poll rating, saying it is normal. i am going to lose report -- support because i him doing things people don't like. i am wondering how worried he is now. a level of 26%. everything he has tried to do in the last few weeks has turned to dust basically. as mark was saying and as you were saying come a with all the policies he is trying to produce. there have been errors as well, strategic errors. there were 2 -- one with

leonardo, kicked out of the country. the fact she was taken off the bus. and the president went on television to say, now, she can come back again. many people said he should not be doing that, because he is president. the second thing is about the recent deliberations over the .ostages was a ransom paid or not? he said, no, there was no ransom and now he will say that was a ransom paid. undermining the confidence. all of this contributing bringing his poll rating down. it is harder and harder to do the job when no one has confidence. >> when he asked people do you like francois hollande as a person, they generally say yes. sympathetic, honest, and so on. but whatever he does now in terms of policymaking is working against him. do you think we reached really a point where the trust is not there anymore? >> i think the trust is not there anymore. he has been in power for two years.

in the corner really by taking from the very beginning two bets that he lost. hollande always count on some kind of luck, which he obviously had. -- this time he made one bet recovery will come back. smooth -- will be soothed by the return of growth. the second that, he made a kind of agreement with angela merkel on the euro, the management of the euro. the harsh measures in france. keeping in mind the socialist would win the election in germany -- and as we know, the socialists have taken a big beatnik, -- beating, on the contrary. angela merkel has come out even stronger. on these two counts, he has lost. he broke the french nation

taking two risky bets that he lost. >> as well as the growth aspect that she has been saying for months, well, at the end of 2013, america will happen in france and the unemployment rate will stop and it will go down and we will get more jobs being created. well, we are now almost in november -- in fact, it is november -- just two months to go until this miracle will happen. everyone in france -- the economist, other opposition figures are experts, are all saying there is no way it will happen because of you are going to have the unemployment rate going down you will at least need 1.5% growth and you have 0.01 -- we are a long way in getting -- from getting the growth to bring down the unemployment rate. people saying he will never do it. so, he is giving people -- out of contact with the real preoccupations of the french people.

he can make a decision, he takes too long deciding what he wants to do, and people think he really does not know what is going on. >> the impression that every day brings a new tax, every week. >> this is new. the french you really see fed up with taxes, and they are actually expressing it, sometimes violently, as we have seen in brittany. and it seems the government is may be coming to the point where it realizes the cup is full. >> the cup is full -- and the military -- ministry of finance, which has been a big power inside the state since centuries are used to taking new taxes and french people would go along with it. this is no longer the case. impression -- impression that it is enough with taxes. that does not happen. in the historyck

of france the last 200 years, all the major fights have been due to taxes. even the french revolution was caused by -- income tax introduced in france in the 20th century led to protests and riots in the 1920s and the 1930s and a famous movement, who list .- pugalist movement when you think about a socialist president, it goes hand-in-hand with a reduction in taxes than people having more money, whereas the right wing would be the ones who may increase taxes and little bit. people are saying -- more spending power, money, better ability to save money and in fact the whole opposite is happening where we are being asked to spend more and more money paying taxes and we have no money at all to buy anything and we find it hard to make ends meet. and the service -- [indiscernible]

people say, we pay but the public service is not as good as the -- as it used to be. what do you do? >> you are francois hollande, the polls are down, there are protests. what do you do? >> early election like the far right leader le pen is calling for? or will you say i will weather the storm. i don't think he will all for early elections because the odds are really against his socialist party. but at least a government reshuffle. it is also a need for good professionals in the cabinet, which is not the case. except for the ministry of the interior, the rest are -- they are not heavyweight. let's just remind the viewers, municipal elections are coming up and european elections

in the spring. so, he's got several options. >> the first, do a government reshuffle right now. i do not think it will happen -- before the ministerial elections is the one time to shuffle. do i call early elections? no way francois hollande a call elections because they know he will lose power in the national assembly, so he would be a lame- duck president with a right-wing government and he is on the left. so, he is going to try to weather the storm. there will be increased rusher to do something, and that government reshuffle will come, i think, after the municipal elections next year. who he will choose, i don't know. i think a change of position for the interior minister, who may become prime minister. but it is too early to know exactly what he is going to do and how much of an affected will have. because people are so the satisfied with the government and with francois hollande, that even if he does reshuffle the government it will be a temporary boost.

>> may be a silver lining. people saying francois hollande cannot decide more toward social government -- social democrat or left. maybe because of the crisis, he will have to finally lay it out in the open and say to the french, this is through i am and this is what i wanted to do. >> yes, he will definitely have to clear up his political line, and it will come with a shakeup of his government and also the french left. he will have to leave aside a lot of people who are not suiting to him. have the muscle of the cabinet behind him to try to start a new policy. >> one of the things he really needs to do is to be much more forceful and keeping his troops in order. he's got government ministers criticizing what he is doing. he's got a socialist parties -- the socialist party criticizing the leader of the socialist party, one of his allies has

been criticizing what he has been doing. you cannot run a country with a team which immediately contradicts what you are saying or criticizes what you are saying. so, one of the things he is going to have to do is install a climate of "i am in charge and you follow what i am doing and we walked together." greens are the ones who will be leaving the government after the next reshuffle because they are growing further and further apart from what the government is doing and what they think government should be doing. >> ok. we'll have to see. the message is clear -- mr. president, and your fist on the president. you are the leader. we will see a

>> hello. i am dr. and kendra. >> welcome. >> well there it is bozo bites, or surgery, we will keep you up- to-date. >> -- bugs or bites, or surgery, we will keep you up-to-date. we will keep you up-to-date. >>